A Sign of Courtship
by year of the snake
Summary: Written for a past contest on sesskag group of deviantART. Sesshoumaru finds a little girl in the park, asleep. She brings up a past that he had all but forgotten.


Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. Say hello to the very talented Rumiko Takahashi who owns him and the entire cast. Hello Rumiko Takahashi. Hehehe! I also don't own Carebears, I don't know who owns it.

By: year of the snake (at fanfiction) (aka.) crescentmoon (at mediaminer) And now Opal-Dreams on DeviantArt.

_**A Sign of Courtship**_

Kagome was a young child of just five years old when she had found out how schools celebrated Valentine's day. All the children giving cards and sweets to each other, during school hours. What an awesome holiday it was for a young girl.

All that month her mother and her had talked about various things, from what cards they should buy to what she should wear on that special day. They got her Carebear Valentines to give out with little chocolate suckers tied to them. Mama made her a pretty pink and red dress to wear. The night before Valentine's Day, after a bath, Kagome's hair was put into padded curlers that she'd sleep in.

Mrs. Higurashi was so happy to watch her little girl go off in her beautiful dress and ringlets the next morning. But she found that things weren't so nice when Kagome got home.

Kagome came home with her dress all crinkled from playing. Most of the girl's ringlets had been pulled lose. She was completely missing the red bow from her hair. She left her jacket at school. And worst of all Kagome was hyper. Kagome had eaten almost all the treats she had gotten that day.

After half an hour trying to watch the hyper little girl Mrs. Higurashi wrapped Souta up so he would be warm and pulled a coat around Kagome. Then she herded them outside and to the park. Souta fell asleep in his stroller before they got there.

Kagome ran around and around and up and down for over an hour. Then she ran around some of the trees. Mrs. Higurashi, who had been up with Souta nearly all night, as he was teething and unable to sleep much, fell asleep during this time.

Fifteen minutes later a young man walked through the park. At his side a very old, short man hobbled along with a staff holding him up. The young man heard a woman crying for her daughter, a youth named Kagome. The man looked over at the woman impassively. 'Humans are quiet useless. They even lose their yipping pups.'

The pair continued on, letting the mother worry about her daughter with the other parents at the playground. They came to small stone tables with little stone benches. The tables were square and had been inlayed with a checkered pattern. When they sat down the younger man heard a soft sound, then a few moments later he heard it again.

"Jaken set up." Standing the younger gentleman left his old companion to find the noise.

Around a tree went the man and there nesting in its roots was a little girl. This little girl was curl up, fast asleep, with one puffy coated arm over her head, covering her little exposed ear. Her messy hair held three or four remaining curls, her dress was dirty and crooked, and her cheeks and nose were red. The little girl breathed and the soft noise fluttered into his ears.

His lips twitched once and his eyes softened a little. Here was the missing human girl. When he sniffed the air to see exactly where her mother was his nose filled with the girl's scent and he remembered an older time, almost a previous life, and his mind filled with an older girl. He sniffed daintily again. 'This child is that older girl.' "Kagome." he whispered. He had a flash of the past, scenes that led him to a big decision he now regretted. The decision that drove Kagome from his life and time for good.

Air rushed by driven by miasma. Naraku shuttered and jerked with the poison rushing to leave his deadly wound. When life halted so did he. Sesshoumaru stared down at the recent kill of his brother.

Inuyasha, now the strongest hanyou alive was still on a bloody rampage. Sesshoumaru dodged just a half second before the hanyou would've sliced through his belly. Then he backhanded the hanyou through a succession of trees.

Sesshoumaru watched as Kagome ran pass him with his father's fang in hand. She forced it into the unconscious hanyou's hand. Then she turned to Sesshoumaru and smiled.

In a flash Sesshoumaru was in front of her. He briefly kissed her. Then he was gone. He kissed her because he had seen a human woman kiss a man when he came back from battling a demon. Then he had seen Miroku and Sango kiss after Naraku died. So he thought it was a custom for humans. He had meant for it to show that they were still allies.

Kagome was left to stare after where she thought he went.

Next time they met Kagome blushed.

After Inuyasha, who was sick at the time, fell asleep Kagome asked him, "Why did you kiss me?"

"Is it not a custom for humans to kiss after battle?" Though it was a question it sounded like he knew the answer and didn't expect one.

"I suppose it is for a couple but not for friends."

"We are allies."

"We are friends as well, Sesshoumaru-San. People kiss when they are courting or are married." Kagome explained.

"I see."

A few months later, after much visiting, Sesshoumaru and Kagome were walking along alone. Sesshoumaru had decided to walk with her to the well. She hadn't asked why, and he didn't say.

When they were a few steps away from the well Sesshoumaru pulled her close and kissed her, again only briefly.

After her pulled away Kagome said, "I thought I told you that only courting people kiss."

"I am courting you." Then he walked out of the clearing, leaving her alone. He had a habit of doing that.

He didn't know when he first kissed her that it was a sign of courtship but he had done it so he wouldn't shame himself by refusing to see himself through. Sesshoumaru had kissed her, a sign of courtship, and so a courtship would take place.

After a few more scenes and many more that didn't come at this time, the last one came. The last time he saw his girl.

"Sesshoumaru," the Kagome in his past cried, "you have to choose! I refuse to always come second to power and conquest. If you can't put me first then tell me, stop giving me false hope by telling me nothing!"

"Power and conquest come first."

"I see." The woman he loved turned and left. The scent of sadness and salt flew from the direction she went. She never came back, she was gone for good.

'Power and conquest had always come first in my life. But when you left, power meant nothing and conquest felt cheap. Kagome…' His eyes focused again on the little girl. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. One of her remaining curls brushed his cheek.

Then Sesshoumaru shook the little girl awake. "Come child, your mother is calling for you."

For little Kagome this intimidating man seemed trustworthy. She grabbed on to the white haired man's hand. He guided her back to her mama. The little girl hugged his leg briefly before running to her mother. She called a "Goodbye." to him as she ran.

"I will see you again." Sesshoumaru whispered for the air to hear. "My little Kagome, someday we will mend our broken hearts together."

The End.

Hi everyone! I wrote this for deviantART's group, sesskag's Valentine's Day contest. I worked on it for only 2 to 4 days, off and on, mostly off.

I think it turned out really well. I haven't written anything Inuyasha related for a long time, but I have rediscovered the fandom. And of course my favorite shipping. So when I found out about this contest I just had to enter. =D

For fans of my other works I haven't stopped writing I'm just not able to connect one scene to the next right now, but I will try to have more up soon. =D

Please let me know what you think!


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